DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING DESIGNS ADAPTIVE MOUNTAIN BIKE

The ISU Department of Engineering has been hard at work on their newest project that they have dubbed a “quadracycle,” a sort of mountain bike designed for the disabled.

The quadracycle started out as a senior design project where team members only had to show how it works on paper.

But, they decided it was better to make this an actual working machine. Once it’s actually built, several patentable technologies will be available, which will generate funds for ISU.

Corey Powell, one of the four people working on the project, was able to elaborate further on the machine’s design.

“We call it a quadracycle, an adaptive mountain bike,” Powell said. “It’s meant for the trails and getting out in the backcountry. Instead of having pedals, it’s completely electric. So people with those disabilities can go enjoy their time out there without having to rely on someone else to help them.”

But more importantly, the machine is to be donated to CW HOG, (the Cooperative Wilderness Handicapped Outdoor Group) where anyone in need will have access to it.

“One of the reasons it’s really important to our group is that two of the four people working on the project are veterans,” he said.

According to Powell a couple of people from the group are particularly close to the project.

“I know people who were injured that lost quality of life that they had before their injuries. We’d like to get people back to doing what they were doing before…It’s really about quality of life and getting them reintegrated into the world.”